Sunny Skies for Friday, Cooler Saturday

First off, Happy Friday! Boy, it really feels great to say that. We came off quite a windy night across the Stateline last night. Behind yesterday's cold frontal passage, winds ramped up and became very gusty out of the northwest. Wind gusts for most locations topped off between 35-40 mph. Our highest wind gust report came out of Galena with a 38 mph gust, followed by Rockford at 37 mph. Looking ahead into our Friday, we look to hold onto these gusty winds.

An area of high pressure continues to build across the Upper Midwest this morning allowing for a gorgeously sunny start to our Friday. The only downside was, these northwesterly winds made it feel a bit more chilly as everyone was heading out the door this morning. Temperatures to start were in the low 30s, with wind chills sinking down into the low 20s. Under mostly sunny skies, highs today are going to climb to near average, into the mid to upper 40s.

The gusty winds that we have been subjected to overnight and this morning will continue to play a major role in today's forecast. Westerly winds, especially during the mid-day and afternoon hours could gust upwards of 30 mph. Relief from these gusty conditions will arrive late this evening into our night tonight. While highs today are forecast to climb to near average, wind chills are likely to remain in the low to mid 30s at times during the second half of our Friday. Now, these northwest-westerly winds will gradually change to the northeast overnight. Saturday for the most part, looks to remain dry. But, there is a system that we have been keeping an eye on that could bring a flurry or two, even a spotty shower to the region during the day.

An upper-level low currently over the Southwest United States is forecast to be picked up by upper-level flow, and track to the south of the viewing area. The reason why this system will be suppressed to our south is because of the dome of high pressure that is currently bringing plenty of sunshine to the Stateline. This area of high pressure is going to filter a very dry air mass in the lower levels  of our atmosphere to start the weekend. When you have a large amount of dry air in the low-levels, it helps evaporate any precipitation before it is able to reach the ground. So, this could result in a mostly dry Saturday, despite how close snow chances look to be. The higher accumulations will be focused more towards the south of the Stateline stretching into central Illinois. Northeast winds will result in a slightly cooler day than today, with highs hovering around the 40 degree mark.